Chris Hedges is one among many on the left and right who believe anything any president says is at least as likely to be a lie as not.
Obama is better than most at saying one thing and meaning the exact opposite.
Here is Chris's take on what Obama would have said about NSA terrorism if he had told the American people the truth in his recent speech:
"THE PRESIDENT: A small, secret surveillance committee of goons and thugs hiding behind the mask of patriotism was established in 1908 in Washington, D.C.
"The group was led from 1924 until 1972 by J. Edgar Hoover, and during his reign it became known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"FBI agents spied upon and infiltrated labor unions, political parties, radical groupsespecially those led by African-Americansanti-war groups and the civil rights movement in order to discredit anyone, including politicians such as Henry Wallace, who questioned the power of the state and big business.
"Agents burglarized homes and offices, illegally opened mail and planted unlawful wiretaps.
"Bureau leaders created blacklists.
"They destroyed careers and sometimes lives.
"They demanded loyalty oaths.
"By the time they were done, our progressive and radical movements, which had given us the middle class and opened up our political system, were dead.
"And while the FBI was targeting internal dissidents, our foreign intelligence operatives were overthrowing regimes, bankrolling some of the most vicious dictators on the planet and carrying out assassinations in numerous countries, such as Cuba and the Philippines and later Iran, Guatemala, Vietnam, Chile, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Throughout American history, intelligence services often did little more than advance and protect corporate profits and solidify state repression and imperialist expansion.
"War, for big business, has always been very lucrative and used as an excuse to curtail basic liberties and crush popular movements. 'Inter arma silent leges,' as Cicero said, or 'During war, the laws are silent.
Chris Hedges: What Obama Really Meant Was ... - Chris Hedges - Truthdig
Every government ever created has served the interests of its richest 1% at the expense of its majorities.
Every Empire that's resulted from War and Debt has fallen.
When the US Empire falls, it may well take humanity with it.
Obama is better than most at saying one thing and meaning the exact opposite.
Here is Chris's take on what Obama would have said about NSA terrorism if he had told the American people the truth in his recent speech:
"THE PRESIDENT: A small, secret surveillance committee of goons and thugs hiding behind the mask of patriotism was established in 1908 in Washington, D.C.
"The group was led from 1924 until 1972 by J. Edgar Hoover, and during his reign it became known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"FBI agents spied upon and infiltrated labor unions, political parties, radical groupsespecially those led by African-Americansanti-war groups and the civil rights movement in order to discredit anyone, including politicians such as Henry Wallace, who questioned the power of the state and big business.
"Agents burglarized homes and offices, illegally opened mail and planted unlawful wiretaps.
"Bureau leaders created blacklists.
"They destroyed careers and sometimes lives.
"They demanded loyalty oaths.
"By the time they were done, our progressive and radical movements, which had given us the middle class and opened up our political system, were dead.
"And while the FBI was targeting internal dissidents, our foreign intelligence operatives were overthrowing regimes, bankrolling some of the most vicious dictators on the planet and carrying out assassinations in numerous countries, such as Cuba and the Philippines and later Iran, Guatemala, Vietnam, Chile, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Throughout American history, intelligence services often did little more than advance and protect corporate profits and solidify state repression and imperialist expansion.
"War, for big business, has always been very lucrative and used as an excuse to curtail basic liberties and crush popular movements. 'Inter arma silent leges,' as Cicero said, or 'During war, the laws are silent.
Chris Hedges: What Obama Really Meant Was ... - Chris Hedges - Truthdig
Every government ever created has served the interests of its richest 1% at the expense of its majorities.
Every Empire that's resulted from War and Debt has fallen.
When the US Empire falls, it may well take humanity with it.
